Opposite of Ordinary

One Sixth of the Way Through!

2011-03-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

MARCH 1ST?!??! WHAT?!

I cannot believe we have already gone through 2 months of 2011. Just for fun (and because it's been forever since I've updated) I thought it'd be interesting to see how I've done on my resolutions.

Work out regularly - I really already do this, but I took several sabbaticals this year. Aiming to avoid those. So far, so good! Not this last week, but the rest of the time - GREAT!
Try to eat mainly natural foods. We do this already, it's just the sweets that get to me.. Sweets will forever be my nemesis.
Lose 10 pounds by February - this will be easy if I do stick to #1 & #2. Not quite 10 - but 5! I'm OK with that.
Learn something new every day. I found this site to help me with that! I kept up with these for about 3 weeks, then got too busy. Eh.
Don't let time rule your life. THIS will be super hard. I've recently realized, that the best days I have are the ones where I don't let time bog me down. I really want to hold on to that feeling. I believe I am of course still working on this, but I really have done better! But these two months FLEW!
Try my hardest not to yell so much. I come from a family of LOUD. You want to be heard? You yell. You're angry? Yell. You're happy? Yell. I don't want everyone to remember me as a loud person... I did NOT raise my voice at Caleb for 10 days. That is a record ;) I just asked Caleb - and he says I've done really well at this one. Fantastic.
Keep my nails painted. This sounds silly - but I feel so much prettier/daintier when my nails are painted. I would say my nails have stayed painted 80% of the time!
Go camping with the husband for the first time ever...shouldn't be too bad since I got him awesome camping equipment for his birthday. Not time yet...
Spend one weekend at the lake. I didn't go to the lake/ocean ONCE in 2010. Not time yet...
Learn how to play tennis - any takers to help? Not yet, but I did have offers to help!
Practice Piano and master a song each month. FAIL. Haven't even sat down.
Enjoy every minute of 2011. So far, so good!

Life is crazy busy - but I'm working on balancing it all. I spent MOST of January out of town (I stayed in a hotel for 14 nights of January) and February felt good to stay at home. I'm so looking forward to warmer weather, and longer days of sun!

Meeting P-Dub

2011-02-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

So Saturday was the first of some very exciting February days that I have coming up.

Saturday I got to meet a woman who I genuinely love.

A woman who I think is beautiful, inspirational and magnificent.

A woman who balances an amazing life and chronicles all of it so I can follow along.

The talented Pioneer Woman.

She was so lovely. She told me she has always loved the name Roxanne. She told my friend Lauren that she loved her outfit. I was more jealous of Lauren's compliment.

Seriously though, she really is a fantastic person. I check her blog a couple times a week and I have loved getting to know her and her family.

Oh, and her hot husband ;)

Are you my daddy?

2011-01-28T08:07:00.001-08:00

I have decided to search for my biological father. In case you don't know, I have never met him. My mom got pregnant when she was 15. There was a possibility that two men (boys really) could have been my dad. Now that I'm older, she is certain it is Michael Hamilton. And that is the extent of my knowledge about my father.
I know that when he was 14 (yes, he was just a mere 14 years old) he lived in Barstow California. I also know he may have gone to either Barstow High School or Central High School. Piece of cake right?

I have a phone number, for a man that is 40 years old, named Michael Taylor Hamilton and has lived in Barstow California before. I have been sitting on this information for a week.

What exactly do you say?! Hi there, are you my dad? Do you remember how you had a crazy night when you were 14? Well, you have a daughter! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

I texted the number this morning with no response. So now I'm afraid it is a land line and I will actually have to call him.

I just want to see what he looks like and know my medical history. And maybe know if I have any half siblings out there I don't know about. I really do have the lowest of expectations about this, but it's still scary.

Does someone else want to do this for me? Or tell me what to say???

What couldn't my mom have slept with a Gaston or something?

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

2011-01-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Cajun King Restaurant:

SO YUMMY! This is a creole/cajun-ish restaurant and was voted #1 on urbanspoon for 2010. It's a buffet - $9 for lunch and is SO worth it. Delicious food, so flavorful and the most fantastic service I have ever received. The chef came and greeted us, everyone talked to us as "newbies" and we were even followed out, asked if we had the bread pudding, and BROUGHT bread pudding to our car to go for us. Fantastic! It looks a

little sketchy from outside, but trust me, you'll love it.

Current favorite CD in ALL the time - Joshua Radin, the rock and the tide. He's mellow, smooth and has a lovely voice. The words are catchy and sweet. We have it playing almost all the time. I'm

contemplating going to see him in Lawrence Kansas with my sweet friend Lauren (5 hours to Lawrence - worth it?! - we'll see).

Sarah's Key - Book Review

This was a really interesting book. I read it while we were at Winterfest - so a REALLY quick read. It's about a little girl whose family gets rounded up by the Parisian police during the crazy time of history that is Hitler's war. She locks her brother in their hiding place, and the story is of her trying to get back to him. The story also collides with an American woman who married a Parisian in modern day times. Her in-laws have a strange connection to Sarah's story and we get to follow along as she learns the details.

Really great book - interesting story line - and so fun to read about places I've been!

Lessons in Life

2011-01-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

January 2nd Caleb and I left for NCYM. This was a wonderful conference and we truly loved it, but man alive was it tiring. We came back Friday - then spent the evening (and early morning) with friends. We slept alone in our house January 1st, and January 7th. Since then, we have had nothing but house guests! And we leave tomorrow for Dallas until Sunday (Winterfest with the youth group).
I NEVER ask for patience anymore. I learned the hard way, that God WILL give you opportunities to work on it. I'm sort of wondering why he's still trying to teach me patience. More than likely because I'm terrible at it...
So here's to patience. And growth. And not killing each other. OR yelling.

If we are the body...

2011-01-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

So, I'm spending the week in Colorado Springs at the National Conference for Youth Ministers. I have been blessed to hear a handful of extremely talented speakers and have already felt growth and knowledge in two short days.

Today, I heard something that struck me to the core.

More than to my core. It struck me to the depths of my soul.

The speaker was discussing the church as a verb. It's a new-ish concept, that I know my generation is grasping on to. The idea that the church, is of course not a place but rather people. We're taught that early on. But not just the idea - LIVING that belief. The church is NOT a place. It is NOT our destination. The church is to help fuel us to go out and BE the church throughout the week and our lives.

He gave a startling truth. Children, that graduate out of elementary school without having at least a fourth grade reading level, will go on to have serious trouble the rest of their lives. They are more susceptible to ending up in jail, dropping out of school, doing drugs, having failed marriages, teen pregnancies, etc.

The speaker asked a simple and profound question that I will leave you with.

Why, are children graduating out of elementary school without more than a fourth grade reading level and becoming susceptible to all these terrible things, when the church is chock full of people who know how to read?

Resolutions Thus Far

2011-01-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

I really REALLY love January 1st. It's my favorite day. I'm all about new beginnings/clean slates. I love feeling like I have a brand new year to live the best I can. Therefore, I am of course a big believer in Resolutions. I make several and usually do better on them all. Reflecting at the end of the year is such a great experience to see the difference.

So here's 2011's Resolutions - more will be added I'm sure.

Work out regularly - I really already do this, but I took several sabbaticals this year. Aiming to avoid those.
Try to eat mainly natural foods. We do this already, it's just the sweets that get to me..
Lose 10 pounds by February - this will be easy if I do stick to #1 & #2.
Learn something new every day. I found this site to help me with that!
Don't let time rule your life. THIS will be super hard. I've recently realized, that the best days I have are the ones where I don't let time bog me down. I really want to hold on to that feeling.
Try my hardest not to yell so much. I come from a family of LOUD. You want to be heard? You yell. You're angry? Yell. You're happy? Yell. I don't want everyone to remember me as a loud person...
Keep my nails painted. This sounds silly - but I feel so much prettier/daintier when my nails are painted.
Go camping with the husband for the first time ever...shouldn't be too bad since I got him awesome camping equipment for his birthday.
Spend one weekend at the lake. I didn't go to the lake/ocean ONCE in 2010.
Learn how to play tennis - any takers to help?
Practice Piano and master a song each month.
Enjoy every minute of 2011.

So far so good ;)

Twenty-Ten

2010-12-31T12:00:00.001-08:00

This has been such a crazy ride of a year for us - and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

I bought my first home - and have now lived in it for almost 6 months.

We lost our phase manager job - and learned patience and forgiveness.

We adopted little Moses and he has been SO fun to have around.

We celebrated two years of marriage in Paris, London, Dublin and Brussels and had the best time.

I found out my sweet friend Paige is pregnant - my first really close friend to have a baby! I'm SO excited.

I become a child passenger safety technician in January, then instructor in July. My job has been crazy and SO SO rewarding.

I lost 15 pounds, and yet still weight exactly what I did December 31st, 2009. Bummer.

We made a lot of new friends, and spend less time sitting at home - and more time living. A wonderful resolution that I will carry into next year as well.

Today, 9 years ago, my precious grandfather left this place. I miss him every single day. I try my hardest to live my life knowing he will be proud of my decisions.

Here's to a beautiful 2010 - and an even better 2011!

Two Loans Down...

2010-12-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

20 more to go!!!!

Oh my word! It's SUPER exciting to have taken care of ANOTHER loan. I have mixed Dave Ramsey's "snowball effect" with Roxanne Foster's "get 'er done" attitude and we are making progress!

I have finally figured out that if I pay off the loans that create the highest monthly payments regardless of anything else, I will finally lower our $1,100 student loan payment. This is the only way to sanity I've decided!

So with this second loan paid off, we are officially at $1,000 a month! woo!

We are celebrating this one with our favorite healthy meal, chicken caesar salad - and a puzzle! VERY simple, but only because we leave for Colorado Sunday for an entire week. We'll have plenty of ways to celebrate there!

Take THAT Salliemae!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T08:23:00.001-08:00

Maybe it's late - but I hope you all had a VERY merry christmas!

I would rank mine the second worst of all time, but I won't go into it ;)

Merry Grinchmas and a Happy Who Year from ours to yours! & An Outtake...

Restaurant Review - Nonna's

2010-12-22T11:58:00.000-08:00

In the winter months, it seems like the only option for "fun things to do" is to go out and eat (possibly this is what is effecting my weight...). So Caleb and I have made it a point to try a lot of new-to-us restaurants. Since we've been going to a LOT lately, I thought I'd review them in case you haven't been!

Now, I didn't go here with Caleb (YET). We made reservations for New Year's. But I did go today with the office as our Christmas Lunch. The food was OK, but I will tell you that we are cancelling our reservation for New Year's...

Our group started with the crab mango salsa dip, stuffed mushrooms and calamari. The crap dip was really delicious. I thought it was a strange combination - but I LOVED it. The presentation was lovely as well. The stuffed mushrooms had a delicious stuffing flavor, but I did not like the mushroom caps at all. It seems like they could have gone with a higher quality shroom. The calamari was not what I expected. It was long pieces instead of circles and tentacles. But I thought it was REALLY good.

I had the Quiche Loraine that came with a side spring salad with honey dijon dressing. I HATE grass for salad (which is what it was). The quiche was good, but not anything special.

My co-workers all thought their dishes were fine, but again nothing special.

Now our favorite part is ALWAYS the dessert. I had my mind set on the double fudge brownie, and just as we were about to order our waiter informs us that they are literally out of half of their desserts. Our only options were cookies, pies, strawberry shortcake and pot de creme. We went with the latter two. I thought my pot de creme was delicious. Certainly worth the $5. The snickerdoodle cookies my boss ordered were hard and not impressive at all. The strawberry shortcake was dry.

This wasn't a BAD experience, but it most certainly was not worth the money. Lunch prices are reasonable (10-14 dollars a plate) but I just don't think this place was as delicious as it is hyped up to be.

Now, it is possible that the dinner menu which includes meats may have to-die-for-steaks that I did not try, but I doubt I will ever go back to try it.

I would give this place a 3 out of 5 stars. It would be a fun date night, but like I said - I am cancelling our New Year's Eve reservations. I just don't believe it was worth the $100 dinner would be for two people. BUT, I would say it would be perfect for a summer night to go sit out on the second floor patio and have cocktails or a dessert!

Holiday Weight

2010-12-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

The holidays and I are in a fight.

You see. Since this summer I have officially gained a good 10 pounds. So less than a month ago I re-joined a gym and got back to it. I have eaten better for MOST meals and worked out 4 times a week. Results? NOTHING. It's the small slice of pie here, the bowl of soup there - it's killing me!

And now, starting today I will be engaged in a holiday meal until next Wednesday. And that is BEFORE the actual Christmas celebrations.
Then the first week of January, Caleb and I travel to Colorado where we will eat out every meal.
Basically, I'm screwed.

So - when you see me in January with an ADDITIONAL 10 pounds. Please don't judge. Just kindly tell me to put down the plate of brownies, wipe my chin and get on the treadmill.

KTHANKS.

Sunny Paradise

2010-12-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED!

Come May 5th, Caleb and I will be celebrating our third year anniversary for 8 beautiful nights here!

Our first two anniversaries were celebrated in Italy, then several cities in Europe. Those were EASY choices because I had always wanted to go there. Figuring out where we wanted to go for this trip was more difficult.

We're actually truly not beach people. We got bored on our honeymoon in Destin. BUT we booked this one to relax - and at the same time for adventure! We can surf, scuba dive, zip line and snorkel/swim with sea turtles. This will be AMAZING I am sure.

RIGHT after I booked the flights - I got an email from my credit card (which I used to purchase it) saying starting January 1 I would get 5% cash back for airline purchases. BUMMER. That's like $45 missed out on....bleh.

None-the-less, this is bound to be fantastic!

Book Review

2010-12-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

I read The Hunger Games back in May, then bought Catching Fire in London on our vacation and read it in one day (don't worry, I was conveniently sick). Then I had to wait until AUGUST for Mockingjay to come out.

This is absolutely my favorite series I have ever read. I could NOT put the books down. It's about what happened to American after it "fell". There was a capitol (the government) and the country was divided up into districts based on trade (agriculture, mining, etc.). One district tried to overthrow the capitol and lost, and the capitol created the "Hunger Games" to remind all the people they can never beat the Capitol. Every year, one boy and one girl from each district are thrown into the arena and are forced to fight to the death. The hunger games is about one girl's experience in the arena, and how it affected her life.

My friend Emily was reading this book as a part of her sociology program at Columbia and I thought it sounded interesting. It definitely was.

It's about several different people who live in the Bronx, and the lives they lead. Drugs, violence, sex and teenage pregnancy run rampant as the book follows their lives. This is a true story and reminded me the importance of education and to be grateful for my life and opportunities. It was a little hard to read at times, but eye-opening.

This was a cute, fun and quick read. A memoir, about Haven Kimmel, she retells childhood memories and it is still interesting to read as an adult. She had some very humorous encounters, and extremly wise insights even as a child to what was going on around her.

She came recommended to me by a friend - and I'm anxious to read some of her other books as well.

Redeeming Love is bar none my favorite book. Maybe it has to do with how it hit me in my spiritual life, or maybe I'm a hopeless romantic who feel for the story line. Whatever it is - this will be the first book I've ever read twice.

Reedeeming Love is an extended fictional story about the life of Hosea. God commanded Hosea to marry a whore and to make her his wife. In the book, Michael Hosea does exactly this. The book follows Michael's command to marry a prostitute, "angel" and his quest to show her true, redeeming love. It's a beautiful story.

Leave any recommendations! I LOVE reading and am always looking for more!

Thankful for my Home

2010-11-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

So a month later....

It's holiday season again and I can barely believe it! I have SO much to be thankful for every single year/month and day.

This year I am incredibly thankful for my new home. It feels more and more like ours everyday and I really love it.

Every time I'm standing in it alone and I stop to think about it being mine and Caleb's first home together, I am so grateful. We did so much to personalize it and make it ours, and we worked hard to get to a place that we could call it our own. I'm thankful to God for giving us the resources to purchase it and fill it with our meaningless things. I hope we're always able to use it to bless others as often as possible.

Rock the Pole!

2010-10-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Oh Man Oh Man. Was this not one of the funnest things I've ever done!

I was invited to a bachelorette party at Teaze Studios in OKC and it was SO exciting. It was quite an intense workout and quite seriously a confidence booster.

I was not too bad at all. I could climb the pole, do the twirls AND go upside down. I LOVED it. Once I find someone to go to the classes with me - I intend to take several! I just don't want to go alone...

So - consider taking a pole dancing class. It was so much fun and so exciting.

Time is NOT on my side.

2010-10-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

Life has picked up in an extraordinary way. I find myself getting into bed thinking - didn't I JUST do this 10 minutes ago? Days are passing like never before and I'm struggling to ensure that I'm using my time glorifying God. I cannot imagine how much more difficult this becomes with children. Does anyone else struggle with this? I will just be living the American Dream and realize it's been 3 weeks since I picked up my bible. Even longer since I've had heartfelt prayer time. And EVEN longer since I've sat in silence and listened to God.

This upsets me so much, because in my life busy-ness is absolutely how Satan rules. He uses this to his advantage and I let him win almost every day. Does anyone have any tips to combat this?

Since I will have to blog without pictures for a bit (I cannot find my camera cord) here's one I stole from Paige. Everyone loves a picture right?!

Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of

2010-09-30T08:59:00.001-07:00

Dear friends,

Sometimes in life, dreams really do come true. I have been watching New York City movies and pining after my wonderful vacations to the big apple. Much to my dismay, traveling with a husband means twice as much money - that we have, but wouldn't be wise to spend. But alas! Wednesday I get an email that flights are on sale for $167 roundtrip from Dallas!!! And my dear sweet friend Amanda Peery wants to go! Not to mention, our even sweeter friend Emily Elliott lives there and will take our poor pitiful souls in for the nights. All of a sudden, a trip to my beloved Manhattan was no longer a dream.

I have never taken a girlfriend trip and I am beyond ecstatic. However, I am strangely finding myself already missing my husband. When did this happen?! I thought I couldn't stand his forgetfulness and inability to pick up after himself and flatulence?! Won't I love being away from him for a week?

Apparently, I will miss traveling with this (literal) stinker.

One loan down....

2010-09-24T14:07:00.001-07:00

21 more to go! (oh my is that dismal)

Caleb and I have started THROWING money at our student loans to help pay them down. We're trying the snowballing effect, and just 4 months in we have paid off our very first loan.

We are QUITE excited about this and really anxious to have this enormous weight off our shoulders. We have decided that with every milestone - we get to celebrate.

So Tonight we reward ourselves with - a classic movie & brownies!

The reward will be comparative to the size of the loan (this was obviously a smaller loan).

Here's to chasing after a debt-free life. Let's hope that life is sooner than later!!!

Fall Shopping

2010-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

If you are friends with me on facebook you have seen my post about not being able to stop online shopping. Usually - I am against the new trends but this year - I am ALL over them.

However, if you know me at all - you know I am CHEAP as they come. I just can't spend very much money on these things (blame it on the OC debt, the mortgage, or growing up in the depression era...) so I must improvise. I shop my favorite stores that I can't afford - then find what I love at the cheap stores I can!

Take this blazer for example. LOVING IT! It was first up on my must haves this season. I found a black one with ruched sleeves (which I also found on topshop) for just $25! I can dress it up, down and let's face it - just look plain cute.

Chunky Chain Jewelry? ALL over it. Probably because it's hard for me to find a print in clothes that I really like and can stick with. Therefore I love basic colors and popping it with fun accessories. I can't get enough of these necklaces - don't tell Caleb.

Ahh, riding boots. This is still on my list. I want knee-high boots SO badly, but CANNOT find ones that aren't hooker-ish. It's such a fine line. Anything with a heel is immediately out. Trust me on that one. So riding boots seem like my answer. However - still am not successful at finding a pair for less than $150. And really and truly, $75 is my limit on boots. Like I said, CHEAP.

Nwow, I really do like the thigh high socks, but, you will not see me wearing them. I imagine you must have legs like this model's to pull them off. I, do not. You would see bulging fat above the hem line - not attractive. Now the skirt I can get behind - I just bought a sparkle top. AND the oxfords - I'm looking for an oxford heel as we speak.

I LOVE fall. Have I mentioned that yet? ;)

My Dream Porch

2010-09-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

Somehow every time I go to make a new post it's already been a week...

Fall is on the Horizon and it is my FAVORITE time of the year. I already have all my decor out, pumpkin spice, spice cake, cinnamon and mulled cider candles out and have stashed $40 aside just to buy pumpkins for my front porch.

I hate football - it seems weird that everyone else associate's fall with football. I LOVE baking with pumpkin. Being able to bake at all since it's too hot in the summer. Getting out sweaters and tights and hats and scarves. And the cooler weather!!

I will post a picture of my front porch as soon as it's pumpkin-ed out. What this porch doesn't have that mine soon will is a HANGING FRONT PORCH SWING!!! You have NO idea how excited I am about this...

News

2010-09-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have news.
Big news.
Exciting news.
Scary news.

The news is - my friend Jen and I started our own business. I am VERY excited about it, but it's scary. If we fail, everyone knows. It's not like a job - where you hide nicely behind your routine. This is out in the open for scrutiny. We could fail in front of everyone.

But I'm really excited. I believe it's a big door God opened for me to help us pay our student loans and enter financial freedom. I think God has huge plans for us once the weight of the loans are behind us (have I ever told you how much weight it is? Seriously, enormous).

I'm very positive about this situation. And I ask that you pray together with my family and Jen's family that this succeeds for us.

I'll tell you more about it soon. We have a website we're working on and other things to finalize.

For now - if you know of anyone who needs their bookkeeping done, send them our way!

Can you pay my bills?

2010-08-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here paying bills - and I cannot get that song out of my head. "Can you pay my bills? Can you pay my telephone bills? Can you pay my automobills?" Oh - man, who sang that?

So life has been nothing short of crazy. Safe Kids just had our 13th annual golf tournament and it went well! I had a big hand in it, and with my friend Lauren and Mike we really got it done! It feels good for it to be over - pictures to come!

We have had a lot of fun lately with the youth group and looking forward to another month with them.

Did I ever tell you all I was on the news? You can watch the video here: http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12814895. I'm in the middle - looking like I'm bossing people around, which I probably am. This was at a car seat check. That's primarily what Safe Kids does. We install car seats and give them to those who don't have one. The statistic states 4 out of 5 are installed inproperly, however in my 7 months of installing TONS of seats, I've only ever seen 2 correctly installed. Make sure yours is!

Now - I am going to settle in with a movie after cleaning the house and garage and deep cleaning things.

God sent the rain for ME today.

2010-08-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

If you have not read The Hunger Games trilogy - You MUST.

Someone recommended the hunger games to me and I read it on the plane to Paris. THEN, I loved it SO much that in London I went to a book store to find the second book, Catching Fire. I looked everywhere for it and couldn't find it - so I finally asked the checker for help. He laughed at me and said, "That's downstairs in the teen section". I promise I had NO idea it was a teenager trilogy. I thought it was for adults...

Anyway - Mockingjay came out TODAY (it has been the #1 top seller on B&N.COM from pre-sales alone!) and my wonderful husband pre-ordered it for me. I am hoping with all that I am that it will arrive today, because I am fairly certain God send this lovely gloomy day for me so that I may curl in my chair and read the entire book tonight. I also hope for my husband's sake that it arrives today because I will curl in my chair and cry otherwise.

Do yourselves a favor - start reading Hunger Games NOW. It's far better than Twilight.

Guilt

2010-08-19T07:03:00.001-07:00

This is just going to sound so silly at first - but bear with me.

I am a woman who likes clothes. I love fashion - I consider it a part of my hobby. Most of the time however, I refuse to pay as much money for some of the things I love. I have never spent more then $40 on an article of clothing. My husband encourages me to spend more here and there when I love something, but I can't do it. I only shop however, a few times a year. Why? Because I feel nothing but immense guilt every time I do it.

Last winter I got all of my winter clothes stolen from me out of the OC storage room. I had kept a few items unboxed and in my apartment, so I still have about 5 sweaters. I have been putting money aside all summer for our trip to Chicago to buy new fall/winter clothes to replace the old ones. Today we were going to go shop just for a few things as a date. BUT I started feeling guilty. Extraordinarily guilty. Like I should take all of the money I've saved up and give it to someone and repent 100 times over.

I see two sides to every story. On the one hand, shopping is my hobby. I enjoy taking the money that I worked hard for and spending it on things I love. I feel thankful to God for giving me the blessing to support this. I am always thrifty and never extravagant with it. I rarely spend more than $300 on a "spree". I justify it by saying that I know I spend less than MOST Americans.

But then, I passed a homeless man on the way to work this morning (every morning actually). I never give him money, but I have taken him to breakfast. A little voice sounded off "you won't give him money but you have no problem going shopping for yourself today". I want to justify it and say but I only have 5 sweaters. 5 sweaters will dress me in a different outfit most every day of the week. I am certain I am luckier than the majority of the world in that case. I have clothes, plenty of clothes. I want new ones. Am I being nothing but selfish?

I realize this is silly and seems petty since it's just about clothes, but it's not. It runs deeper. Being raised to feel guilty about every decision I made was not healthy. I viewed God as the ultimate punisher. He watches me all the time and knows when I'm doing things bad - and I better repent or I'll go straight to Hell! I've grown, and learned more about my God of grace, but bad habits are hard to kick. Is it OK for me to spend money on new clothes when I have more than enough to be clothed every day? What about the fact that I feel unhappy when I decide not to buy anything - because I'm only doing that from guilt.

How do I find a holy balance between these emotions?

Help Me!

2010-08-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here is our bathroom:

Obviously, it's amazing. Wooden toilet lid - built-in toothbrush and soap holder, lumberjack plaid wallpaper. It doesn't get better than this.

But I want it to...

SO - while we're starting to save to completely gut it - I have to start preparing for what changes I want to make. It's actually a pretty larg

e space which I am really thankful for. I obviously want to stay on a budget, but need to make it not so personalized for resale and up the value of our home.

I should start by saying I don't like your typical beautiful granite countertop, dark brown cabinet thing. I think it's pretty - but it isn't me.

I'm more of a claw-foot tub, bright white clean bathroom. Here are some ideas I've LOVED.

This one is absolutely beautiful

to me. But, seeing as how the cabinet alone is $2,500 and my budget is around $1500.....not gonna happen.

This one just screams bright and open and carefree to me. I love that. I need serious help thought - because I love almost everything. PLEASE help.

It's finished!!!

2010-07-25T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I can officially say every box is unpacked and we are finally settled. JUST in time for Caleb to leave me for 2 weeks alone in the house. Perfect right?!

Caleb left this morning for Blue Haven with the youth group, and while I loved going last year - I just could not miss such a large chunk of work. I have someone staying with me almost every night - or somewhere to go if not. But I really already miss having my husband here.

It's unbelievable for me to admit that it's almost August. This summer has gone by SO fast what with buying a house and all.....
Which I FINALLY have some pictures of up on facebook. You can see them here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2048368&id=168300710

And while we're on the subject of putting a link in here - why can't I make it a word? Someone help me!!

I'll leave you with a picture of this beautiful little girl whose mother has FINALLY decided to move closer to me!! My mom, brother and sister will be moving here in October and I could not be more happy. Those kids are something special to me - and our relationship is more than I could ever explain to anyone. Besides - look at that face - how could you not?!

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Meet our new house. Isn't she adorable? She has a new black roof and paint to come. But come June 29th she is mine all mine. Oh - and I guess Caleb's too.

We have had the craziest months of our life lately. At this point - I don't see how we'll ever have time for children.

We had a fantastic time in Europe - and enjoyed the culture and LOTS of food.

As soon as we got back - it was house hunting every second. On Memorial day we made an offer - and next Tuesday it is ours!

We are so thrilled and SO ready to stop living in transitional stages. And also dumbfounded by all the things we've had to do. Utilities in our name, changing address everywhere, obsess over decor - you know, home ownership thing.

While on that note - be forewarned. Buy a house with a tree. They are DANG expensive if you want it to not take 10 years to enjoy. Just saying.

Hopefully I can be more regular with this now - we shall see!

Stay tuned for home project updates and before and after pictures!!!!

It's been awhile...

2010-04-23T08:27:00.001-07:00

3 months - I am the worst blogger ever.

Blogs aren't fun without picture right? I will have to upload some really soon about what's been going on in our lives.

But here's what we've been up to!

In January I became a certified child passenger safety technician. I am the go-to girl for car seats now! It's been amazing learning about child passengery safety and being an advocate for children who can't choose to be safe on their own. It has been a tremendous blessing.
We also took the youth group to Winterfest which was a wonderful trip! We really enjoyed it.

In February Caleb and I spent Valentine's Day in Eureka Springs. We stayed in an adorable treehouse cabin and LOVED it. It was nice to just relax and be together.

I turned the big 2-3 in March! It was a little difficult for me to be honest. I'm not used to this whole getting older thing just yet. We also spent spring break in Mexico at Casa de la Esperanza. It was a wonderful experience, but very exhausting!

In April we have done something every single weekend. Our favorite so far was the marriage retreat we went on in Gore, OK with the young adults at Mayfair. It was a wonderful time of friendship and closeness, and we were able to spend time just talking to each other about our marriage - a perfect way to spend a weekend.

Now we are headed to Tulsa for Lexie's SECOND birthday! I cannot believe it! Next week is time for OC check-outs! And we are officially T minus 13 days from leaving from Europe...and let me tell you I do not have NEAR as much planned as this time last year for Italy. I have NOT had the time!

Maybe I'll be regular with this now...maybe not. Last night I was talking to the wives at Caleb's softball game - and we all agreed if you aren't planning for a wedding or having a baby your blog is not interesting.... ;)

New Year - New Starts

2010-01-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

These were my FAVORITE two Christmas pictures that I took with my amazing new camera. I am LOVING learning all the settings and how to take awesome pictures - I have used Pioneer Woman to help the most with that actually! It's been so fun to learn.

Let me just start by saying I LOVE new years. I love a fresh start and I love making decisions to have a better life. Why wouldn't you love that?

I decided this year to take each resolution month by month, and REALLY focus on them. I have a few ongoing ones, such as reading my Bible more often, exercising more frequently and eating healthy, but also more defined monthly ones.

My first one for January has been no sweets and I have been successful thus far! I do allow myself sugar free pudding as well as this chocolate milk that I make with lite syrup. I have only had 1 pudding and 1 cup of chocolate milk so I'm really proud of myself so far!

Caleb and I spent New Year's day organizing, reading, cleaning and hanging out with friends. There is an old wives tale that what you spend your New Year's Day doing is how you will spend your year. This is shaping up to be a great year already - so I'm really excited about it!

Passionate - Family

2009-12-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

I am passionate about family.

The ones we are born into - and the ones we choose.

I love both of mine more than I could imagine. Althought sometimes I want to punch some of them in the face (we all do at one point or another - don't lie), at the end of the day they are the ones standing beside me. Always.

I am blessed to have a unique family. My little brother and sister are my entire world. I would do anything for them. A part of me understands the love you have for your own child, because I have a glimpse of that with my siblings. I cannot imagine this love being any greater, and I anticipate what that must feel like when I have my own children.

My family of friends is so important to me. In fact, I would argue it is THE most important to me. My friends have watched my ups and downs, lefts and rights and never once left me. They are beautiful people, and I love our bonds the most because we choose each other every day.

Make sure your family knows how much you love them.

Passionate

2009-12-01T15:13:00.001-08:00

I am copying off of Derek Waugh on this one. The next couple blogs will be dedicated to things I am passionate about.
Today, I am passionate about being kind to everyone you meet. The old saying goes,"Be kind to all, because you do not know what kind of battle they are going through." I think of this often, especially when I'm going through a rough day and no one is kind to me. Luckily, I have friends and family who love and support me to make up for any lack of kindness - but several people do not.
I met a man named Ronnie at work today. He's a maintenance man at the hospital and is SO sweet. I talked to him for awhile as he was helping me with something. When he was finished and went to leave, I said thank you so much for your help. He responded with, "No, thank you for talking to me." It was so second nature for me to talk to someone that it caught me off guard. This sweet older man just wanted someone to talk to him and be kind to him...
Be kind to everyone you come in contact with this week. Make sure they know Christ loves them - and show them that through your kindness!

My Beautiful Youth Group

2009-11-24T17:09:00.000-08:00

Meet my youth group - they are a little crazy and a lot of fun.
These are my beautiful middle school girls. I love trying to be a role model for them, even though I know I fail. I love that they look up to me and are always wanting my attention. I love everything about them, and I'm so glad to be so close to them.Meet the tall boy in the back. He will never understand it, but he has changed mine and Caleb's life. We love Josh like he is our brother, and we could not be more proud of watching him become a man. He is such a beautiful person and I love him so much.Caleb and I have grown more together in our experiences with the youth group than ever before. I cannot believe the love I have for each of these kids. People ask me if I have or want kids, and I answer, "why yes, I have 15 children". We have laughed, lived and loved so hard this summer and I wouldn't change anything about any of these kids. I love them with all I am.

Where have I been?

2009-11-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

That is a good question. There are of course a hundred thousand things I've been doing since my last post, but I will not bore you with my excuses. It is time I return.

I will however tell you that I have in the past couple months become ridiculously obsessed with the Pioneer Woman. As in I have a list of 30 or so recipes I have to make, and have already crossed off 6 in the past few weeks!

For now, I will keep you in tune with my precious little sister's new happy face I taught her. Ready, set, swoon.

And the CRAZY week begins!

2009-07-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, and immediately remembered that this is one of the craziest weeks of my life I can remember since my wedding. I have two classes ending Thursday, which means 2 quizzes, 4 chapters to read, 1 5 page paper on marriage, 1 5 page observation of a child and 3 tests. That is one big list of things to do! I keep telling myself if I can make it until Thursday I am home free....BUT
Thursday we drive to Tulsa for the wedding festivities of Logan and Jennifer. Thursday night Caleb is off to bachelor party it up, Friday night is rehearsal dinner and Saturday night is wedding! While this is wonderful and we can't wait to see two of our best friends enter marriage together, we have to drive home to Edmond Saturday evening - do our laundry - pack for camp - and be at Mayfair by 5:45 to leave for camp for 2 weeks.
I am just a teeny bit overwhelmed by everything to do this week. But I try to just remember that what this means is that I am extremely blessed and lucky to have so many wonderful things to do this week!

Sixth Time's the Charm!

2009-07-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! I have wanted to make a blog for several weeks now - debating whether or not it will just become another way to waste time. I have almost created one 5 times - and on the sixth time finally decided to give it a go! I have lots of thoughts and ideas and like all bloggers, I am positive your life will be enriched with them. So here goes nothing!

Today on my way home from Six Flags with the youth group (I'll blog about that later) I finished reading "A Long Way Gone...Memoirs of a Boy Soldier". This book was heart-breaking and heart-warming all at the same time. It is one boy's account of his time in the war in Sierra Leone. Ishmael was 12 when the war hit his home and he lost his family, innocence and childhood in it. The book tells of Ishmael's memories of the war and who he was forced to become in it. I really recommend this book to everyone. It is hard to read as an American who can never fully appreciate their freedom but eye-opening nonetheless.